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Over 1,218 reviews forMorris Excavators from people just like you.

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"We have some newer drainage issues for our property and

came out despite being very busy and gave us some ideas on how to correct the problem" ...More - FREE OF CHARGE! I'm talking about a NC lake property where you are lucky to find anyone still in business, much less willing to come our for an estimate! And he's a guy that "knows a guy" - if you have a vacation property you know how valuable that is! Can't say enough good about dealing with him.

-Eric K.

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from

arrived within the within the time window that they gave me when I set up the appointed.

" ...More was friendly and quickly found the septic tank. He had to do some digging to get to it. He pumped out the tank, checked it and let me know that it was in good shape...he also explained some things about the tank and pumping. The price was very reasonable and I would definitely recommend

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Local Articles in Morris

There are a number of reasons why homeowners need a professional to excavate their yard, concrete or around their foundation. In this guide to hiring an excavator, we'll dig into what situations require someone to do excavation work, what to look for when hiring an excavator, what you should do before you dig, alternatives to excavation, costs to excavate on your property and scams to avoid.

Well the fact is he is going to have to pull permits which means it has to be inspected before he is done, you also have to consider the equiptment that he has to bring out to the jobsite to do the job and the man power plus materials, it's costly, but I am not from your area so if you are unsure call another company out and see what they say.Don't tell them what the other company said as far as price.

It is almost certain that you will have to modify the foundation to make it deeper too - and that is MAJOR structural work.

You need a civil/geotechnical engineering firm with experience in foundation rehab and putting in basements under existing homes to design the process and prepare and seal the plans and specifications, which you will need before you can get a building permit for this. They will also be able to help you select either a foundation excavation or a house moving and jacking company to do the actual work for you.

The engineer can also help you with a cost estimate - because I think you will be surprised how much this is going to cost. I have designed or managed quite a few such jobs, from highrise buildings to homes, and even the smallest houses of about 600SF footprint ran at least $15,000, and generally house basement excavations run more like $25-40,000 unless the foundation was originally designed for it but for some reason the basement was never put in, which is VERY rare except in very deep frost areas were footings are occasionally deep enough to allow a basement to be dug without deepening them. I worked on a couple back east that ran about $100,000 each because they were old 2-story brick buildings, which are very sensitive to differential movements - probably like yours.

A couple of other factors to consider is that in doing this you are likely to get at least some minor drywall cracking and door and window jamming, and be sure the contractor is insured and bonded to the hilt and for the potential rebuild value of the house, not just the job cost, because a major mistake can turn your house into a teardown. Not common, but the less experienced the contractor the more likely he is to do something dramatically wrong, and at the same time the smaller and less experienced contractors generally have lower coverages so your risks is compounded in two ways. With a row home you have the added risk of damaging adjacent units.

One thing to consider cost wise before you go ahead - I have worked a couple of jobs where it turned out cheaper and far safer to scrap the digging in a basement idea and put in an addition with same footprint instead. However, looking back I see you are in a row home, so that is likely not going to work. However, being in a row home, especially if on the Potomac flats south or east of the capital area, the soil conditions are generally the pits once you get off the Georgetown heights, so putting a basement under a rowhome without disturbing the other ones is VERY difficult and pricey - I would be surprised if you could do it for less than $100,000.

One other factor is utilities - one of the first things to do is check depth to any utilities like sewer lines, the Metro, etc - if you are over one of those that could well put your project totally out of the frame of reality.

You asked for a recommendation - one who specializes in this type of work that I would recommend, though your job might well be too small size for them - but they might be able to give you an engineer and contractor recommendation if so. Company name is Schnabel Foundation Company in Sterling Va and Bethesda, MD in your area - website www.schnabel.com. They could handle both the engineering and construction.

If the windows are being put in by a general contractor, he can easily handle the window wells too.
If you were looking for a window installer to do the windows, they might or might not do the window wells as well - some do, some do not. A small one-man excavation company can do this excavation, as can a handyman as it just takes about 1/2-1 hour shovel work per window in normal soil conditions, because the soil around the foundation is already pretty loose from foundation constructiuon (as a rule). Just be sure they pour concrete in the bottom to keep water from coming under the well, and that it is firmly fastened to the foundation and liberally asphalt sealed at the interface with the concrete - not just caulked at the edge, but mastic-coated on cleaned concrete BEFORE the window well in installed and concrete poured in the bottom.
(Note - the concrete depends on soil conditions and water level - if your soil is pretty free draining and groundwater level never comes up to bottom of window well, then a gravel bed in the bottom is best so it stays dry - but if groundwater rises that high or you are in real impermeable soil like clay, then concrete works best. If concrete bottom is used, you probably want to have the clear acrylic window well cover put on too to keep water and frogs and such out. Of course, if this is an emergency egress window, you cannot put the plastic covers over it legally.

Wow - from way general to totally specific - nice job, you have your scope of work almost ready to contact potential bidders about giving a bid - just need to double check each item hads quantities attached to it, plus a plan with depths (or specify tie-in elevations to existing pipe and required drain/pipe slopes - say 1% or more). Search the List (in green banner bar) for Earthwork and Excavation contractors in your area with good reviews and ratings.

here is a very rough idea of costs - obviously you need bids to tie it down, this should just give you a ballpark to compare to - assuming all this work is done at the same time.

1) & 2) - Tree and rock maybe $100 - more like $200 if you want the stump totally rooted out rather than just the stump and root crown taken out.

3) Walk removal and disposal probably about $100-200 - maybe half if these are 3-4 inch individual concrete squares or rectangles that can be skidded to the side, the excavation and ground sloping done, then slid back into place with a backhoe or bobcat or by wood skids and prybar, eliminating the hauling and disposal cost.

4) Excavation and disposal of soil probably about $20-30/CY, because you are talking a small quantity. Cheaper if you have an on-site area it can be spread out onsite for disposal, or stockpiled in yard as a future project dirt pile, if that is suitable.

5) You don't say what the existing drain is - underground drain for downspouts maybe ? For shallow burial, probably about $5/LF or so. Why square - round is cheaper and far stronger for given material thickness.

6) Fence R&R probably about $150-200, depending on depth of posts and whether concreted in or not.

7) vegetation removal - not knowing how much, $100-200

8) Garden wall around $10-12/SF assuming excavated material from yard is suitable for the general backfill - remember should go 4-12 inches below grade for stability (4" for this wall, more like 6-12 for higher front wall)

5) garden wall around $12-15/SF as above including concrete footer needed for this height wall

6) area drain laterals about $5-10/LF, assuming not over 3 feet deep

7) slab drainage - I don't know where the quick lime idea came from, but this is a no-go - it will remove a small amount of water (maybe 5-20 gallons) from the soil one-time - it has no long term function as it will quickly become saturated. You are actually likely to have 5 wet circles in your concrete slab from this forever, as the lime will act as a soggy sponge, retaining water that would otherwise wick away. If you have or expect a basement slab moisture problem, then you need a sump pump with sump installed, and possibly (depending on how free-draining the base material under your slab is to carry waer to the sump pump) lateral drains cut in below the perimeter of the slab. Can run from $800-1500 range for a pump and pit depending on capacity and wiring situation, plus $500-1000 for an emergency battery-powered backup if desired. $1000-2500 range typically if lateral drains around the perimeter of the slab are necessary. Cheaper but sloppier and moisture-causing solution is small trenches or above-slab channels to carry the water to sump pump. These laterals are commonly held off on till you see if the sump pump can handle the issue itself, ASSUMING you have unfinished basement so a bit of seepage aroundbthe slab does no more damage than needing a mopping up. Personally, unless you have a continual seepage of water into basement or it is finished so leakage is critical, I would leave sump pump and drains for later - to see if your surface drainage changes eliminates the basement dampness problem, which it commonly does unless your water table rises to the basement slab level. Also, having a sump pump implies water issues and tolls against any future buyer finishing an unfinished basement, so it detracts from resale value if you have one.

Note these are off-the-cuff type numbers, NOT any sort of deliberate estimate - but I felt it was better to give you a ballpark than to just say go get estimates. Except for the floor drains, this sounds like a good job for a small 1-3 man excavation and hauling company, but make sure they have experience in putting in drain pipe and block walls and have good references in that area.

Note- if you are inclined to do it yourself work and have the time, most of this is good homeowner home improvement project material. You could have a contractor with a bobcat or small tractor with small backhoe come and pull the fence posts out (you could remove the above-ground apart easily), trench for the pipes, maybe move the rocks and sidewalk (though you could do that yourself with a few scraps of wood as skids and a 5 foot prybar assuming the walk is in piece, not continuously reinforced, and to do the bulk excavation and hauling for you, leaving the vegetation clearing, pipe work, trench backfilling, final slope dressing, block wall building, transplanting, etc to you - could cut your cost about 1/3-1/2. Basement slab drainage I consider a separate issue which would not cost significantly different if done as part of this job, or later if drainage channels or slab french drains are deemed necessary.

For the excavation - remember to get utility locates - I recommend once for bidding so they know where utilities are, then require the bidder to get relocates just before excavation starts. Gas, telephone, cable TV are commonly less than a foot down - water and sewer usually 3 feet or more but don't count on it. Also worry about septic system is you have that, and any power or water lines to/from well if you have a well. Plus of course your sprinkler system if in the way of proposed excavation.

Excavating reviews in Morris

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“

was very responsive in both email and in person, they were very professional and used experienced workers. They completed the job and did everything as they quoted.”

- Cindy M.

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was prompt and professional. They provided what I considered a thorough and professional estimate within the time they committed. Unfortunately the total price, while fair, was outside of my budget and I had to delay the project. I would definitely call

again.”

- Arthur P.

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Would recommend this man to my entire family or friends for their needs. Mr

and his son (who works with him) are two trustworthy conscientious individuals. Instilled a feeling of trustworthiness that few contractors can do. From the time I called till he arrived was only a couple hours.
After he cleared my septic tank ...More and home plumbing, he gave me good advice on my well and tree problems.
I will be hiring Mr

to come back and trim some trees which overhang my roof.
I'm 66 years old and in all those years he is one of very few contractors that have impressed me so with his honesty and work ethic - a good contractor whose number you should have.”

- thomas F.

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and I planned to have this done over a year ago. I was in no hurry and he was a very busy guy and we just couldn't seem to get our schedules coordinated. We finally were able to get this pulled together.

came out and reviewed the plans again. I did all the leg work with the County to get permits and ...More approval for the project since I had all the details about the property. It took me 1 lunch hour at the County office to get it taken care of, it was not a big issue. Also, I share my property line with an apartment complex. The tie in is on their side so I had to coordinate with them and make sure that their property was respected. The resin fence was installed by the apartments, so to make for good neighbors, I arranged for their fence company to come in a couple of days before to take the fence down and then put it back up after the connection.
The start day

and his team arrived. Introduced themselves and we walked the plan together to make sure that we were on the same page and I had a buried electrical line from the house to the barn that I wanted to make sure they were aware of and to stay safe..

's consideration for the apartments was super. He started there first so we made sure not to disrupt the occupants and could get the fence back up as soon as possible. They had that section done by the end of Day 1. That was a huge help. And made the management company of the apartments extremely happy.
The rest of the job went very smoothly no surprises and other than a day delay for rain they stayed on the job. The team was polite, respectful, pleasant to be around. I own my house and being female sometimes contractors treat you like you don't have a brain in your head. Not this group. They listened, explained when needed and never once talked to me like this was too complex.
One other big thing, I have other outside workers who felt my property was their trash bin,

's team NEVER left trash lying around. At the end of each day they gathered things up. I didn't have a problem with them leaving materials and equipment behind but the property never looked trashy.
The place is starting to come back. The grass seeding has taken and my plants that we moved are rooting well. Yes, it looks like work has been done in the yard, but nothing that won't grow back with a little more rain. Also, the apartments are pleased with how it was handled so no problems there.
I would absolutely work with

and his team again. They were great!”

- Diane J M.

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If you are considering hiring

.....don't DO IT! I hired him to do a job that was supposed to last one day, two at most.....he did NOT complete in two days, came back another two days then didn't show back up for a few weeks!!! He showed up late EVERY DAY then left early, had a

of his stop by ...More for coffee, took long lunch breaks. Not to mention the work that he did was not acceptable - he was supposed to dig up an area for a patio and walkways with proper pitch and grading, properly regrade the backyard and dig for landscaping....needless to say NONE of that was done properly and I have a patio that gets a HUGE water issue with a major puddle on the patio when it rains. I addressed the issue and he is NOT taking any of the responsibility and will not fix it nor will he return a portion of my money. (I paid him in full before it rained and knew that there was a grading issue.) Now I have to hire another person who actually knows how to properly grade a backyard so there is not a water issue on my patio - which will cost me more money. This guy is completely sarcastic, rude and either doesn't care about doing a job properly or he doesn't know how to do his job properly....either way, he could care less and does not stand behind his work at all. He doesn't even bring his own water to a job site and expects the homeowner to supply him with something to drink when he's thirsty. He is also very nosey and snooped in my garage and showed up at my house when I wasn't there without notice or permission.

Now I know why he doesn't advertise his last name "

" and only addresses himself as "

" He gets two thumbs down and an "F" in my book!”

- Nancy B.

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I initially started this project with a contractor hired off of a certain free classified listing site, and had the previous contractor abandon the job and abscond with a substantial deposit. Needing to keep the ball rolling, I reached out to

to come in and do the proper excavation and also facilitate the pouring of the concrete ...More that I needed.
From our initial contact,

was sympathetic of my situation and assured me that he would do whatever he could to make it right. His pricing was substantially higher than what the flaky contractor had bid, but his excellent ratings on Angie's List convinces me to spend the money. It turned out to be the right decision.

was able to get my project back on track in an extremely short period of time, squeezing my little garage slab in between multiple larger jobs and making me feel like a priority. He didn't tolerate any delays from subcontractors and was able to make the connections required to keep the foundation and slab pours on a timely schedule.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with the finished product. It was such a great experience to work with a competent contractor whose primary motivation is doing good business and making sure the customer is happy. I would happily use

again on future projects and recommend him to anybody looking for grading, excavation, or concrete work.”

- Eric T.

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I had

Landscaping and Excavation put in a firepit and do a significant amount of landscaping around our house.
The firepit was beautiful, but several of the plants and trees died, including 6 Arborvitae to screen corner by fire pit. We tried to get them to come out and look at the trees to see what could be done several ...More times this spring and they never came out. All of the trees died. When we had a separate company come out to remove them and fix the garden, they said they were misplanted and still in their cages. Additionally, several other plants were put in areas where they shouldn't have been (two Lilacs that will grow 12 x 12 next to our door).
When spending thousands of dollars, you expect them to have a measure of knowledge on how to plant things. We were able to move some of the plants and save them, but the lack of effort on behalf of

Landscaping to even help was shocking given how much we paid. I've asked them for a partial refund of the plants that died that were planted poorly. This seemed reasonable given that we had to pay to have somebody else come out and fix the problem. I have been unable to get a response from them for 1 month, and have been trying to get somebody out to our house since April 13.”

- Bradley J.

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Outstanding. We couldn't have been luckier in contracting with Desi. He has exceeded all expectations. He also acted as general contractor for a previous building as well as for our foundation and cement work. We cannot recommend him highly enough.”